Vacuum-pump.



J. L. SPARKS 5: E. R. EDDINS.

VACUUM PUMP.

APPLICATION FILED APR.I7,1908.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 1.

J. L. SPARKS & E. R, EDDINS.

VACUUM PUMP. APPLICATION FILED APB.1I, 1908.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Jill/mimi- Jaiizwfigmriii 3? Edvard 4274411202:

Maw.- 33% srrirns rarnn'r JAMES L. SPARKS AND EDWARD R. EDDINS, OF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS TO AUTOMATIC VACUUM PUMP COMPANY, OF ST.LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPO- RATION OF MISSOURI.

VACUUM-PUMP.

Patented Aug. 3, 1909.

Application filed April 1'7, 1908. Serial No. 427,600.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Janus L. SPARKS and EDWARD R. EDDINS, both citizensof the United State residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Vacuum- Pumps, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofhis specification, in which-- Figure l is a vertical sectional view of avacuum pump constructed in accordance with our invention; fig. 2 is across sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is anenlarged vertical cross sectional view of the valve operating mechanism,taken on the line 38 of Fig. 4; Fig. 4 is an enlarged side elevationalview of the valve-operating mechanism; Fi 5 is a vertical sectional viewtaken through the casing of the steam valve; and Fig. 6 is a horizontalsectional view taken on approximately the line G6 of Fig.

This invention relates to vacuum pumps.

One object of our invention is to provide a pump comprising a tank orcylinder provided with an inlet and an outlet opening, means forintroducing steam into said tank to force air or a fluid out of same andalso create a vacuum in said cylinder when the steam condenses and meansoperated by the heat of said steam as it exhausts from said cylinder foractuating the valve that controls the admission of etc: m into thecylinder. A

Another object of our invention is to provide a pump comprising a tankor cylinder, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder to dischargethe contents thereof and also create vacuum in said cylinder when thesteam condenses, and an actuating mechanism for said valve whicn is soconstructed that the valve will close when the contents of the cylinderis discharged irrespective of the time it takes to discharge saidcontents.

iinother object of our invention is to provide a pump comprising a tankor cylinder, a valve for controlling the admission of steam into saidtank to displace the contents thereof and create a vacuum in the tankwhen said steam condenses, mechanism for automatically operating saidvalve, and means for causing said valve to remain closed so long as acertain vacuum exists in the tank.

Another object of our invention is to provide a pump comprising a tankor cylinder, a valve for permitting steam to pass through said cylinder,and a thermostat arranged in the path of movement of the steam as itexhausts from said cylinder for operating said valve. And still anotherobject of our invention is to provide a valve-operating mechanismcomprising an actuating member for the valve, and means for graduallystoring up energy in said actuating member and then releasing it so thatit can impart a quick and sudden movement to the stem of the valve toopen and close the valve. Other advantages and desirable features of ourinvention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate one form of our invention, Adesignates an air-tight tank or cylinder, 1 designates pipe that leadsinto said cylinder,

'gnates a check valve in said pipe,

and i d pipe being adapted to be connected to a device or apparatus inwhich a vacuum is to be created or a supply of water or liquid that tobe moved. A pipe 2 leads into the upper end of said tank for introducingsteam into same, and a cock 8 is arranged in said pipe for controllingthe passage of steam therethrough. The pipe 2 is also provided with avalve 4: of any preferred design for admitting the steam into the tankA. li e have herein shown an oscillating valve provided with a pluralityof ports which aline with ports in a partition 5 on the inside of thevalve casing 6 when the valve is in one position but it wili, of course,be obvious that other types of valves could be used without departingfrom the spirit of our invention.

The mechanism for operating the steam valve comprises an actuating 1e*er 7 and devices hereinafter described which impart a quick and suddenmovement to the stem P of the valve Said actuating lever is pivotallyconnected at 8 to a stationary support and the short end of said leveris connected to a thermostat that controls the movements of said lever,the opposite end of said lever being connected to the valve-operatingdevices.

In the construction herein shown the actuating lever 7 is provided witha weight 8 which causes said lever to move downwardly and close thesteam valve when the thermostat is heated and expands, the cooling offor contraction of the thermostat causing the lever 7 to move upwardlyand open the valve, as hereinafter described.

We have herein shown a thermostat that consists of a number of metalrods 10, 11, 12 and 18 arranged in the path of movement of the steamthat exhausts from the cylinder A through a pipe l l that leads from thebottom of the cylinder. The rod 10 is connected at its upper end to thesupport 9 and at its lower end to a lever 10 to the opposite end ofwhich the rod 11 is connected. The upper end of the rod 11 is connectedto a lever 11 and the upper end of the rod 12 is connected to theopposite end of said lever 11. The lower end of rod 12 is connected to alever 12 and the rod 13 is connected at its lower end to the oppositeend of said lever 12 and at its upper end to the actuating lever 7, asshown clearly in Fig. 1. The rod 13 is preferably provided with aturn-buckle 13 that enables said rod to be lengthened or shortened. Whenthe steam that exhausts from the tank A comes in contact with said metalrods it will heat said rods and thus cause them to expand or stretch,thereby permitting the weight 8' to move the actuating lever 7downwardly.

As previously stated, the pump herein shown is adapted to be used forpumping water or sucking air out of any device, and, in fact, can beused for any purpose where a vacuum is required. If, for example, thepump is to be used for raising water, the pipe 1 will be connected tothe water supply so that water will flow into the tank A when a vacuumis created therein. To start the pump we admit steam, preferably lowpressure steam, into the tank through the pipe 2 and thus cause air orany fluid that is in the tank to be discharged through the pipe 1 1,said pipe it being provided with a check valve 14c that prevents airfrom entering the tank. hen said steam condenses a vacuum will becreated in the tank A which causes the water to flow through the pipe 1into the tank. As the steam exhausts from said tank through the pipe 1 1it heats the rods which form the thermostat and thus permits theactuating lever 7 to move downwardly and close the steam valve t,thereby automatically cutting off the supply of steam to the tank A.Nhen the rods which form the thermostat cool off the contraction of saidrods will move the actuating lever 7 upwardly and thus open the steamvalve 1. As the steam rushes into the tank it forces the water out ofsame through the pipe 14 and when said steam condenses a vacuum will becreated which draws another charge of water into the tank, theseoperations being repeated automatically due to the fact that the heat ofthe exhaust steam causes the thermostat to expand and permit thevalveoperating mechanism to close the valve 4c, and the cooling off orcontraction of the metal rods of the "thermostat actuates the mechanismwhich opens the valve l.

lVe prefer to introduce a spray of water into the tank A. to cause thesteam to condense quickly and also subject the thermostat to a spray ofwater to cause it to cool off quickly, and to accomplish this we use a.water pipe 15 that extends into the upper end of the tank A and abranch 16 leading from said pipe to a point adjacent the thermostat. Thewater from the pipe 15 discharges onto a plate 17 arranged inside of thetank, said plate operating to deflect the water laterally and separateit into a line spray which falls onto the steam. The branch 16 isprovided with a spraying nozzle 18 of any suitable design that willproject a spray downwardly onto the rods which form the thermostat. Saidbranch 16 is provided with a checkvalve 16 that prevents air frompassing through said branch into the tank and also a cock 16 that can bemanipulated to regulate the quantity of water that is discharged ontothe thermostat. ln fact, this cock 16 controls the time of operation ofthe machine for when a great quantity of water is discharged onto thethermostat said thermostat will cool off more quickly than when a smallamount of water is discharged onto same and thus cause the steam valveto open at shorter intervals. The pipe 15 is provided with a cock 15 andalso a valve 19 that is operated by the mechanism which operates thesteam valve 4, said operating mechanism being so constructed that thewater valve will open at approximately the same time the steam valvecloses and also close at approximately the same time said steam valveopens.

We prefer to arrange the rods which form the thermostat inside of acasing 20 open at its upper end and provided at its lower end with ports21 which admit air into said easing, the casing being provided with asliding valve 22 which regulates the quantity of air that passes intothe lower end of the casing 20 through the ports therein. The pipe 14;enters the lower end of the casing 20. and when the exhaust steam rushesinto said casing it will ascend and thus create a draft that draws airinto the casing through the ports 21, said air acting to cool off thethermostat. The casing 20 is provided with a discharge pipe 23 tl1roughwhich the water from the pipe 1% flows, said discharge pipe preferablybeing provided with an S-strap EA that forms a Water seal which preventsair from entering the casing through the dis charge pipe.

The devices which the actuating lever 7 operates for imparting movementto the stem of the steam valve at consist of a rock arm 25 looselymounted on a stub shaft 26 carried by a frame 13 to which the casingsfor the steam valve and water valve are connected. A rod 27 ispivot-ally connected to the outer end of the rock arm 25 and extendsupwardly between jaws T on the actuating lever 7. Collars 28 and 28 areloosely mounted on the rod 27 on the upper and lower sides of the lever7 and coiled springs and 29, which surround said red, are interposedbetween said collars and collars 80 and 80 that are fastened to the rod2? adj acent its up )er and lower ends, as shown clearly in 8. The rockarm is provided with a pair of laterally projecting lugs 31 and 31 thatare adapted to engage and move an operating member consisting of an armloosely mounted on the valve stem 4* and having its upper end pivotallyconnect d to a guide rod 33 that passes through a stationary guide onthe frame B. A coiled expansion spring 35 which surrounds the rod 33 isinterposed between a stationary collar 36 on the lower end of said rodand a movable collar 37 on the upper end of said rod, said movablecollar being beveled on its upper side so as to produce a fulcrum teeth37 which bears against the underneath side of the guide 34 through whichthe rod 33 extends. An approximately r'shaped device 38 is connected tothe valve stem a and the legs of said device are provided with laterallyprojecting lugs 39 and 39 that are adapted to be engaged by the arm ofthe operating member to close and open the steam valve The frame B isprovided with stops l0 and lO and when the steam valve is open the lug39 of the f-shaped device that connected to the stem of said steam valvewill rest on the hen the steam valve is closed the lug 39 of said devicewill rest on the stop l0.

iVhen the actuating lever 7 moves downwardly the rock arm 25 will bedepressed and the lug 31 on said arm will engage the arm of theoperating member and move it in the direction indicted by the arrow inFig. The first portion of the movement of arm moves the rod 33 upwardlyand compresses t e spring and when said arm passes its dead center thespring will expand and thus complete the movement of the arm in t1 edirection indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, thus causing said arm tostrike the lug on the ii-shaped device 38 and impart a quick movement tothe valve stem l so as to open the steam valve. When the actuating lever7 is moved up *ardly by the contraction of the thermostatrods the rockarm 25 will be elevated and thus cause the lug 31 thereon to move 9: 1

the arm )4 of the opel atmg member in the opposite directlon to thatindicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. The first portion of the movement ofsald arm 32 in this d1rect1on will compress the spring 35 and when saidarm passes its dead center the spring will expand and complete themovement of the arm in this direction said the lug 39 on the f-shapedvalve stem and imparting a ment to the valve stem 41 so steam valve.

The water valve 19 is of substantially the same construction as thesteam valve and is provided with a stem ll having a laterally projectingarm on which a weight 43 is mounted said weight operating to hold thewater valve closed. The means for turning the stem ll of the water valveto open said valve consists of an extension 25 on the reel; arm 25 and arod eta pivotally connected to the outer end of said extension andprovided with a projection or rigid collar H) which engages the arm a2on the stem of the water valve and raises said arm when the rock armmoves in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fi 3 to close the steamvalve. hen the rock arm 25 is moved in the opposite direction to openthe steam valve the weightl3 on the arm d2 will restore said arm to itsnormal position and thus close the water valve. The main advantage of avalveperating mechanism of this description is that it does not allowone operation to interfere with the following operation. For example, ifwe are discharging air from the cylinder the steam valve does not startto close when a small amount of heat is applied to the thermostat rods,but the stt 1n must expand these rods their full stroh and the spring 35must be compressed to full compression before the steam valve closes.This provides sufficient time for the air to be completely dischargedfrom the cylinder and when the arm 82 passes dead center the springexpands and thus causes the steam valve to close. The next operation iscondense the steam which has been admitted to the cylinder and the teamvalve must remain closed until this is done. The thermostat starts tocontract at the same time the steam commences to condense and thiscontraction of the thermostat is transmitted to the spring 35 which iscompressed to its full compression before the steam valve opens, thetime it takes to compress the spring providing suliicient time for thestear in the cylinder to condense completely. Thus, it will be seen thatthe time the valve-operating mechanism travels prior to the time thatthe valve actually closes or opens, performs two essential requirements;namely, (1) it allows time for completely filling the vacuum tank witharm engaging device on the sudden moveas to open the steam before thevalve closes and time to completely condense all of said steam beforethe valve opens on its return stroke; it stores power in a suitabledevice, between the time the valve mechanism starts moving and the timethe opening or closing of the valve actually takes place, for completingthe work of opening or closing said valve. Another advantage of avalve-operating mechanism of this construction is that it imparts aquick and sudden movement to the valves, the first portion of themovement of the rock arm 25 storing up energy in the spring of theoperating member that im parts movement to the valve stem so that whenthe arm 32 passes dead center said spring can expand and thus give thearm a quick stroke so as to open or close the valves instantaneously.

The object of interposing a spring 29 between the underneath side of theactuating lever 7 and the rock arm 25 is that when said lever movesdownwardly to close the steam valve said spring 29 will be compressedslightly during the first portion of the movement of said lever and thusstore up energy that is exerted on the rock arm 25 at the time thecollar 45, connected to said arm, engages the arm 42 of the water valvestem.

In view of the fact that the cooling off of the thermostat causes thesteam valve to open we have provided means for preventing the steamvalve from being opened in case the thermostat should cool 01f beforethe vacuum in the tank has been destroyed, thereby eliminatingunnecessary movements of the valve-operating mechanism. To accomplishthis we employ a bellows which consists of two diaphragms 46 and 4:7spaced away from each other and having their edge portions connectedtogether. A pipe as, which passes through the lower diapl'iragm l7,leads into the tank A so that the vacuum in said tank will contract saidbellows and thus move the diaphragm l6 dowmvardly. The top diaphragm 46is provided with a vertically disposed rod a9 that passes through aguide on the frame B, and a coiled spring 50 is arranged on said rodbetween said guide and an adjustable collar 51 at the upper end of therod 49. A locking device 52 is pivotally connected to the frame B and isprovided with an arm having a bifurcated end which receives a pin 53 onthe rod 49, as shown in Fig. 3, so that when the bellows is contractedand the rod 49 moves downwardly, the locking device will move in thedirection indicated by the arrow X in Fig. 3, and thus lie in the pathof movement of a lug 54 on the end of the rock arm 25 so as to preventsaid arm from moving upwardly far enough to open the steam valve. Thislocking device will not prevent the actuating lever 7 from movingupwardly,

however, when the thermostat cools oil or contracts, and as saidactuating lever 7 moves upwardly it will compress the spring 29 andstore up energy in said spring. lVhen the vacuum in the tank A is brokenor falls below a certain degree the expansix e force of the bellowsspring 50 will expand the bellows and thus move the locking device inthe opposite direction to that indicated by the arrow X in Fig. 3 so asto carry said locking device out of engagement with the lug 5st on therock arm 25. The spring 2") will then expand and thus move the rock armupwardly so as to actuate the valve-operating arm 32 to open the steamvalve. The locking device 52 is so proportioned that it will not arrestthe upward movement of the rock arm 25 until after said arm has movedfar enough to carry the collar 4-5 or projection on the rod a-i out ofei'lgagen'ient with the arm 42 on the stem of the water valve so thatthe weight 43 can close said water valve, thereby causing the watervalve and steam valve to remain closed at the same time. By adjustingthe collar 51 on the bellows rod 1-9 we can vary the tension of thespring 50 and thus cause the bellows to be contracted by vacuums ofdifferent degree.

lVhile we have herein shown a thermostat consisting of a number of metalrods connected to each other and to the actuating lever Y in such amanner that the expansion 01' said rods will permit said lever to movedownwardly, we do not wish it to be understood that our broad idea islimited to such a construction as other types of thermostats could beused for controlling the actuating lever 7 without departing from thespirit of our invention. I urthermore, while we have herein shown thepump as comprising means for introducing a spray of water onto the steamin the cylinder A to cause it to condense quickly and a spray of wateronto the thermostat to cause it to cool quickly, this feature is notabsolutely necessary to the successful operation of our pump and couldbe omitted if desired.

One great advantage of a pump of the character above des 'ibed is thatlow-pressure steam can be utilized for creating a vacuum in the cylinderand also actuating the valve-operating mechanism as the latent heat inthe steam is employed for primarily imparting movement to thevalve-operating mechanism. Another advantage of a pump of thisdescription is that the valve which controls the admission of steam tothe cylinder is not timed to operate at any certain period so that weare able to draw a charge of air into the cylinder which can bedischarged therefrom quickly and then a charge of water which takes muchlonger to flow out of the cylinder. In other words, with apump of thisdescription the closing of the steam valve is determined by thecharacter of the substance that is drawn into the cylinder tor as soonas the steam e2;- hausts from the cylinder and strikes the thermostatthe valve which controls the admission of steam will close. The closingand opening of the steam valve also depends upon the pressure of steamused as either air or water will be discharged much quicker with tenpounds of steam pressure than with ten ounces of steam pressure.Furthermore, the time or opening of the steam valve depends upon theintensity of the cooling medium, for it we use cold water for condensingthe steam and cooling the thermostat it will require, say, thirtyseconds to create the vacuum, while if the pump was located in a. warmplace and no water used to cool oil the thermostat or condense thesteam, it would probably take. five minutes to create the vacuum. Thus,it will be seen that the pump automatically takes care of the mostvaried conditions of steam pressure and the cooling medium given it andmaintains an even tension or vacuum.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening, an outlet opcnin through which the contents of said cylinder isdischarged, valve to: admitting steam into said cylinder to dischargethe contents thereof and also create a vacuum therein, and meansarranged in the path of the steam that exhausts from said outlet openingant, adapted to be operated by the heat of said exhaust steam foractuating said valve to cut off the supply of steam to the cylinder;substantially as described.

it. vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening, an outlet opening through which the contents of said cylinderis discharged, a valve for admitting steam into said. cylinder todischarge the contents tl'iereot and create a vacuum therein, and athermostat arranged in the path of the steam that exhausts through saidoutlet ope ing and adapted to be operated by the heat of said steam formoving said valve to cut oil the supply of steam after the contents ofsaid tank has been discharged; substantially as described.

3. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening, an outlet opening through which the contents of said tank isdischarged, a valve for controlling the admission of steam to said tankfor discharging the contents of the tank and also creating a vacuumtherein, and mechanical means for gositively closing said valve, saidmeans being so constructed that the valve cannot close until after theentire conoutlet opening irrespective of the time it takes to dischargesaid contents; substanally as described.

4. it vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening and an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam :to saidcylinder to displace the concylinder when said steam condenses,conirolling men s for said valve adapted to operated by heat andarranged in such a position that it will be acted upon by the steam thatescapes through the outlet opening of the cylinder after the contents ofthe cylinder has been discharged, and means independent of saidcontrolling means for causing said valve to remain closed so long as acertain vacuum exists in the cylinder; substantially as described.

5. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder todischarge the contents thereof and create a vacuum in said cylinder,mechanism for operating said valve, a thermostat adapted to be operatedon by the steam that exhausts from said cylinder for actuating saidvalve-operating mechanism, and means independent of the valve-operatingmechanism for causing said valve-operating mechanism to remain rest solong as a. certain vacuum exists in the cylinder; substantially asdescribed.

(3. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder, athermostat adapted to be acted upon by the steam that exhausts from saidcylinder for controlling the movements of said valve, and automaticallyoperated means controlled by said thermostat for introducing a coolingmedium onto the thermostat and into the tank to cause the thermostat tocool oil quickly and the steam in said tank to condense quickly; substantially as described.

7. it vacuum pump mmprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an out let opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder,a valve tor adn'iitting water into said cylinder to cause said steam toconde so quickly, mechanism for opening and closing both of said valvesautomatically, and means operated by the heat from the steam thatexhausts from said cylinder after the contents of the cylinder has beendischarged for controlling said valve-operating mechanism; substantiallyas described.

8. A vacuum pump comprising a ta k or cylinder, a discharge pipe leadingfrom said cylinder and provided with a check-valve, a suction pipecommunicating with said cylindcr, a valve for admitting steam into saidcylinder to displace the contents thereof and tents of said tank haspassed through said i create a. vacuum in the cylinder, mechanism formoving said valve to open and close it, and a thermostat for impartingmovementto said valve-operating mechanism and arranged in such aposition that it will be heated by the steam that exhausts through saiddischarge pipe after the entire contents of the tank has passed throughsaid discharge pipe; substantially as described.

9. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder todischarge the contents thereof and create a vacuum in said cylinder, avalve-operating mechanism comprising an actuating lever and deviceswhich transmit the movements of said lever to the stem of said valve soto open and close said valve, and a thermostat for moving said actuatinglever in opposite directions, said thermostat being arranged in such aposition that it will, be acted upon by the steam that passes out of thecylinder after the entire contents of the cylinder has been discharged;substantially as described.

10. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening, an outlet. opening in the lower end of said tank through whichthe contents thereof is discharged, a valve for admitting steam intosaid cylinder mechanism for operating said alve, a thermostat arrangedin the path of the steam that escapes through said dis charge openingtor controlling said valveoperating mechanism, and a casing surroundingthe thermostat and provided at its upper and lower ends with openingsthat cause a current of air to circulate over the thermostat to cool it011 quickly; substantially as described:

11. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening and a discharge pipe through which the contents of said cylinderpasses, a casing into the lower end of which said discharge pipeextends, a thermostat arranged inside of said casing, means foradmitting air into the lower end of said casing, a valve for admittingsteam into said cylinder, and means operated by said thermostat forcontrolling the movements of said valve; substantially as described.

12. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletopening, a discharge pipe leading from said cylinder, a valve foradmitting steam into said cylinder, a casing comnnmicating with said discharge pipe and having one of its ends open so that the steam whichexhausts into said casing through said discharge pipe will rush to theopen end of said casing, a thermostat arranged inside of said casing forcontrolling the movements of said valve, and means for admitting airinto the closed end of said casing for cooling off the thermostat afterit has been heated by said exhaust steam; substantially as described.

13. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder tocreate a vacuum therein, an independent valve for admitting water intosaid cylinder to cause said steam to condense quickly, automatic meansfor moving both 01. said valves so as to cause one valve to open whenthe other closes, and means for causing both of said valves to remainclosed so long as a certain vacuum exists in the cylinder substantiallyas described.

14. A. vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder tocreate a vacuum therein, mechanism for operating said valve, a bellowsadapted to be contracted by the vacuum in said cylinder, and a deviceoperated by said hello which holds the valve-operating mechanism lockedso long as a certain vacuum exists in said cylinder; substantially asdescribed.

15. A valve mechanism comprising an oscillating valve provided with astem, a device rigidly connected to said stein, an operating member forsaid stem consisting of two devices pivotally connected together to forma toggle and a spring mounted on one of said devices, and automaticmeans for straightening said toggle to compress said sprii'ig andthereafter permit said spring to expand and thus cause the toggle toengage the device on the valve stem so as to impart a sudden moven'ientto the valve; substantially as described.

16. A valve mechanism comprising an oscillating valve having a stemwhich is provided with a plurality of arms, an oscillating deviceinterposed between said arms, a guide rodv pivotally connected to saiddevice and passing through a stationary guide, a spring surrounding saidrod for actuating said device to force it into engagement with one ofsaid arms and thus impart movement to the valve stem, and means formoving said device to compress said spring and then permit it to expand;substantially as described.

17. A valve mechanism comprising an oscillating valve having a stem thatis provided with a pair of rigid arms, an oscillating device arrangedbetween said arms, a rod pivotally connected to the upper end of saiddevice, a coiled expansion spring arranged on said rod between astationary collar thereon and a stationary abutment through which therod passes, and means for moving said device to compress said spring andthen permit said spring to expand so to force said device intoengagement with one of the arms on the valve stem; substantially asdescribed.

18. A. valve mechanism comprising a valve having a stem that is pr videdwith a pair of rigid arms, an oscillating device which is adapted toengage said arms to move the valve stem in opposite directions, a springco'c perating with said device, and an automatically operated rock armfor moving said device in opposite directions, the first portion 01" themovement of said oscillat'.-g device operating to compress d spring sothat said spring can impart movement to said device after it has reacheda certain position; substantially as described.

19. it valve mechanism comprising a valve having a stem that is providedwith rigid arms, an oscillating device arranged between said arms andadapted to engage same to move the valve stem, a spring cooperating withsaid device, an automatically operated rock arm for moving said devicein opposite directions, the first portion of the movement of saidoscillating device operating to compress said spring so that said springcan impart movement to said device after it has reached a certainposition, and stops which cooperate with the arms on the valve stem tolimit the movement of the valve; substan tially as described.

20. A valve mechanism comprising an oscillating valve provided with astem having a pair of rigid arms. an oscillating device arranged betweensaid arms, a rod pivotally connected to the upper end of said device andprojecting through a stationary guide, a coiled expansion springinterposed between a stationary collar on said rod and a movable collarthat engages said guide, and an automatically operated rock arm providedwith a pair of lugs that alternately engage said oscillating device andmove it in opposite directions; substantially as described.

21. A valve mechanism comprising an oscillating valve having a stem thatis provided with a pair of arms, an oscillating device arranged betweensaid arms for actuating same to open and close the valve, :1 springcooperating with said device for imparting movement thereto after saiddevice has reached a certain position, a rocl arm for moving saidoscillating device in opposite directions, an automatically operatedactuating lever for moving said rock arm in opposite directions, andyielding 'men'ibers interposed between said actuating lever and rock armtor transmitting the movements of said lever to said rocloarm;substantially as described.

A valve mechanism comprising a plurality of oscillating valves, a pairof arms on the stem of one of said valves, an oscillating devic.cooperating with said arms to open and close the valve, a spring forimparting a quick and sudden movement to said device, a rock arm formoving said de le op a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder tocreate a vacuum therein, niccl tor operatmg said valve, and

means independent of said mechanism whereby the vacuum in said cylindercontrols the tine of operation of said valve-operating mechanism;substantially as described.

A. r; vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admit-ting steam into said cylinderto create a vacuum there in, mechanism for operating said valve, andmeans independent 01 said mechanism and controlled by the vacuum in saidcylinder for preventing said valve-operating mechanism from actuatingthe valve so long as a certain 'acuum exists in the cylinder;substantially as described.

25. A vacuum pump comprising a tank or cylinder provided with an inletand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder todischarge the contents thereof and create a vacuum therein, a thermostatadapted to be operated on by the steam that exhausts from said cylinderfor actuating said valve, means for introducing a cooling medium ontosaid thermostat to cause it to cool otl' quickly, and means forregulating the quantity of cooling medium that introduced onto saidthermostat; substantially as described.

26. A vacuum pump comprising a tank provided with an inlet and an outletopening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder to discharge thecontents thereof and create a vacuum therein, mechanism for impartingmovement to said valve to open and close it, a thermostat adapted to beacted upon ly the steam that exhausts from sa d cylinder for impartingmovement to d valve-operating mechanism, and means or permitting saidvalve-operating mechanism to move a certain distance before the valve isoperated on; substantially as described.

vacuum pump comp ising a cylinder provided with an inlet opening and anoutlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said c ,"linder todischarge the contents thereof and create a vacuum therein, a thermostatadapted to be acted upon by the steam that ex iausts from said cylinderfor controlling said valve, and mechanical means for transmitting themovements of the thermostat directly to said valve, said means being soconstructed that the thermostat can expand or contract before the valveis operated; substantially as described.

28. A vacuum pump comprising a cylinder provided with an inlet openingand an outlet opening, a valve for admitting steam into said cylinder todischarge the contents thereof and create a vacuum therein, a thermostatadapted to be acted upon by the steam that exhausts from said cylinder,and a valve-moving mechanism actuated by said thermostat and being soconstructed that the contraction or expansion of the thermostat storesup sufficient energy in same to our signatures, in the presence of twoWit- 15.

nesses this 15th day of April, 1908.

JAMES L. SPAR-KS. EDVARD R. EDDINS.

Witnesses WnLLs L. CHURon, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

